THE LINE, genesis
Cal, Gill and the ever-present line between them, how it began. Angst. Drama. Mini.
Part 1 - Everybody lies, right?
To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.
George MacDonald
Luckily, no one crossed Gill's path as she stormed down the hallway. Disappearing behind the doors of her office, she shut them with a bang. Fingers clutching the doorknob in a lethal grip, she leaned against the flat surface and chuckled exasperatedly, "Seriously, Cal, again?!"
Succumbing to the momentarily flash of fury, the woman nervously paced the room, replaying in her head the meeting she so hurriedly left just minutes ago.
Who does he think he is, mocking her work and making her look like a complete fool in front of their employees and clients? He could have said that he disagreed with her conclusions in private. Why the public humiliation?
Not for the first time she questioned the wiseness of her decision to leave the Pentagon. Cal might be a genius, but he was also a self-centered and stubborn narcissist with a superiority complex.
She hated the easiness with which he embarrassed her, but even more she hated the power he held over her ability to control her emotions. The memory of the barely hidden smirks and chuckles caused by his remarks and her awkward retreat fueled her frustration. Gill had been humiliated before, but not like this. Too late she realized that with Cal she had bitten more than she could chew.
After a while, she stopped her nervous pacing and rolling her eyes in frustration headed towards the desk, grumbling irately, "What a prick…"
"Hope you're not talking about me…" utterly startled, the woman literally jumped upon hearing the familiar smug voice behind her back.
Instantly turning around she found herself face to face with her nemesis. Silently cursing the secret service training allowing him to materialize out of thin air without a sound, Gill fought to regain at least an appearance of composure. Apparently, screwing with her was not enough entertainment for the day, giving her a heart attack was next on the list.
"Go away!" the storm in those grey orbs could turn any man into an icicle, but not Cal. In his usual, smug manner the man chuckled, "Bad day?"
"Bad choice of a partner…" Gill tried to match his arrogant manner with the sweetest fake smile she could muster, but it quickly metamorphized into a scowl.
"Ouch!" Cal's fake hurt only aggravated her irritation.
"Get lost!" She groaned in a tone that was supposed to sound like an order but to her big dismay came out more like a plea.
"Or what? You'll call the security that we do not have or scream a bloody murder? That would raise some eyebrows…" Cal was obviously pulling her chain, but the steely notes of irony in his tone were not ordinary.
Slowly it dawned on her. He was angry. No, not just angry, he was furious, and somehow, she was the reason why. Unexpected turn.
"You missed your calling," the woman hissed raising an elegant eyebrow all the while observing pulsating vein on his forehead, "the stand-up is crying for you."
The man did not take the bite, eying her darkly, "Are you a fool, Foster?"
Gill shuddered from his sudden growl but managed to maintain her rigid posture and cold stare.
"I wanted to ask you the same thing," the woman countered barely controlling the tone of her voice. Unconsciously crossing the arms over her chest in a defensive manner, she moved behind the desk and sat down gaining at least some physical distance between her and the wave of anger radiating fromhim, "After the spectacle you just orchestrated you have the audacity to come here and accuse me of God knows what?!"
Ignoring her defensive retreat, Cal leaned over the flat surface unmercifully gazing into her eyes, "You lied to me!"
The sharp movement of his fists hitting a stock of papers accidentally pushed a glass full of water into her lap, the cold liquid mercilessly splashed over her blouse completely soaking it.
Gill waived her hands in frustration, uncertain whether she should be more annoyed with his accusations or ruined clothing, "Seriously, Cal?"
The man did not react to her words, just stared at her intensively, his dark eyes burning holes in her skull. Looming over her small frame, he looked threatening, but Gill refused to be intimidated.
They studied each other in silence, daring one another to make the next move.
Unsure for how long they had been engaged in this wordless power play, Gill snapped out of it feeling unpleasant chills running down her spine. It took a moment to realize that she was freezing.
The office was undergoing renovation and the heating had been turned off for the last couple of days. The ventilator, set at the maximum level, blew icy air right at her making the wet clothing hug her body in the most unpleasant way.
"Do I have to guess?" Gill sighed standing up. Turning her back to the man, she grabbed the gym bag from the floor to retrieve a fresh set of clothing.
"Do you?" Cal's heated gaze followed her every movement with an almost maniacal gleam of betrayal in his eyes. His anger filling the room.
Finding a long sleeve top in the bag, Gill turned around only to realize that she had unwisely allowed herself to be cornered. All the free space of her office was overloaded with boxes and construction materials. There was no other way out than the narrow path leading straight into the infuriated man.
"Do you mind?" the woman exasperatedly waived the white piece of clothing like a flag of surrender, "I need to change..."
"Admit it!" Cal unkindly sneered not hearing or ignoring her plea, his eyes turning a notch darker.
He truly believed that she had betrayed him, but Gill had absolutely no clue what had brought it on.
Now the ventilator was right above her head, making already bad situation worse. To stop her body from trembling, Gill tensed and gritted her teeth, feeling as the goosebumps on her forearms covered with the goosebumps of their own.
Quickly assessing the situation, Gill concluded that it is not promising. She could not overpower her partner or get past him without his consent and he clearly was not in a mood to listen to a reason.
Contemplating her options, she decided to screw the modesty. She was not going to get pneumonia only because Cal suddenly developed delusions of grandeur.
Turning her back to the man, she approached the window and closed the blinds.
Her trembling fingers turned a simple task of unbuttoning the blouse into a struggle. Nervously sliding the silky fabric off her shoulders, she unhooked the soaking bra all the while feeling his heated gaze on her naked skin.
"Care to elaborate or intend to circle dance all night?" her voice failed to hide her anxiety.
"You never resigned!" Cal harshly growled through clenched teeth.
The news that Gill still worked for the Pentagon had hit him hard. In his mind, it was an undeniable proof that their partnership was a hoax and she had accepted his proposal only to keep the tabs on him and make sure that he doesn't go public about the cover up. More than that, she must have been assigned to retrieve the classified documents he stole and hid in a safe place in order to protect his family in case everything went south.
The thought that Gill was his Delilah hurt more than he expected. He did not trust anyone, but he had trusted her, and she was about to betray him in the worst possible way.
Conflicting emotions raged within the man as he observed the appealing feminine figure. Almost getting lost in the soft move of the muscles under the silky skin of her bare back, he suddenly wasn't so sure anymore if he wanted to kiss or to strangle her.
Unaware of his poisonous thoughts or the toxic gleam in his eyes, Gill caught only the steely notes in his voice.
When the meaning of his words finally registered, she froze in shock almost choking from the absurdity of the situation weighting heavily on her. Whatever deadly sin she expected him to blame on her, that was not it.
Her mind refused to wrap around the thought that all the humiliation and bullying he has been putting her through was for this.
Completely forgetting her less than presentable state she turned around and faced her adversary. Mute accusation she saw in his eyes hurt more than a physical blow.
The initial shock gave a way to the anger. A volcano of emotions erupting inside her pushed the woman over the edge leaving her literally trembling in fury.
Idiot… moron … jerk … she didn't possess the necessary vocabulary to properly characterize the man burning holes in her flesh with his fiery gaze.
It was not fair, she did not deserve it, any of this!
In a spur of the moment, she stepped forward intending to slap him.
Anticipating her move, Cal leaned sideways and with an irritated scowl caught midair her small palm, unceremoniously pulling her body into his with such a force that the wind was knocked out of her lungs.
Overcoming the initial surprise from his abrupt manhandling, the woman struggled against the wise like grip, but ended up being pressed harder into his body.
"Let ... me ... go!" Gill emphasized each word continuing to wriggle in his arms.
The alluring aroma of her perfume hit his nostrils. She looked so endearing and fragile in her futile efforts to break free that for a split second the man forgot the reason for their predicament and almost smiled in amusement. The moment was short lived. Too much was at stake.
Completely out of breath, Gill finally gave in. Lifting her face, she looked straight into his dark eyes only now noticing the storm raging inside of them.
For a while they stared at each other trying to catch every micro expression on the other's face.
The standstill lingered.
Instead of defusing the situation, it only fueled the fire burning between them, turning it into a white heat.
His eyes squinted with suspicion, hers opened wider in confusion. The twitch of contempt passing his face reflected hurt on hers. The mute accusation he wanted to bury her under shone brightly in a form of unshed tears at the corners of her eyes, but try as he might, he could not find a trace of deception or guilt.
Either she was far better liar than he gave her a credit for, or she honestly had no clue what he was talking about.
The uncertainty drove Cal mad. This woman drove him mad.
From the first time he saw her, there was something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Unlike the rest of the world, she never shielded away from his prying eyes, but somehow, he still was unable to decipher her. She was neither intimidated nor shy when he intentionally invaded her personal space but did not provoke or respond to his antics either. She intrigued him because he had never met someone who was able to withstand his provocations with such a grace and effortless ease.
"Calmed down?" like an x-ray, his eyes slid from her face to the bare chest and back, his callous hands relishing in the softness of the naked skin under his fingertips.
"Stop staring!" Gill retorted brazenly. Angry heat radiating from her blazing eyes was intoxicating.
With a fascination the man realized that his roughness didn't frighten her and that he was more affected by her nakedness than she was.
His respect for her rose to a new level.
Seeing the change in his demeanor, the way his breath quickened, and pupils dialed as he licked his lips unconsciously moving his face closer to hers, Gill snapped out of the spellbinding stupor, "Don't you dare!"
Her voice was horse, the reason prevented her from screaming out loud.
She gasped in surprise when his forehead rested against hers, puffs of hot air brushed her cheek, but their lips never met. Looking in his eyes, Gill saw the enormous effort it took for the man to restrain himself.
Silently praying that the same effort was not written on her face, she managed a soft chuckle despite the nervousness, "Idiot!"
"Crybaby!" Cal retorted losing the edge of his earlier anger.
"Never do that again," Gill demanded painfully chewing her bottom lip.
Cal's grip on her bare torso finally slacked but did not let go completely. He lifted his right arm to her face; his fingers gently caught a lose strand of hair dangling in front of her eyes and moved it behind her ear, "Aye, aye…"
His acknowledgment lacked conviction.
Quickly but somewhat reluctantly Gill stepped away from the warmth his arms offered. Numb fingers retrieved the white top that she swiftly pulled over her head, "Did it ever occur to just ask, instead of bullying me?"
"I'm asking now," Cal's voice was softer than it was just seconds ago.
Turning around, Gill eyed him solemnly, "You are not asking, you're issuing a verdict."
Cal's face hardened as he grabbed her shoulders, "Are you working for them?"
"You know, superiority syndrome is a bitch," Gill bitterly exhaled shaking his hands off her body. Finally, she had at least some clue what on earth he was talking about, but it did not stop her tirade, "Have you ever, even for a moment considered that you might be wrong? That the whole world is not against you and humiliating people is not the best way to get to the truth? How do you expect us to be partners, if you do not trust me or do not treat me with respect? If you must know, I gave my resignation, but the person who is supposed to replace me has been absent for family reasons. My request was put on hold until his return. For confidentiality considerations, I cannot just toss my files at the first person who comes my way. The information is too sensitive and in the wrong hands could ruin not only the careers but also lives. I thought that you of all people would get it. But, off course, why talk to me when you know better, assuming the worst is so much easier …"
She had no clue what horrid story his overly imaginative mind might have painted but had an idea where the wind was blowing from.
Seeing the doubt lingering on his face Gill sighed, "Has it ever occurred to you that your quirks and idiosyncrasies do not push people away as much as your almost religious belief that the whole world is out there to get you?"
Cal remained silent. Gill took it as a sign that her outburst had not convinced him. Her lower lip treacherously trembled, but she was not ready to show this man the level of power he held over her.
"If my word is not enough, then our so-called 'partnership' does not stand a chance…" she grabbed her coat, handbag and hastily left the room before he had a chance to respond.
tbc